The subject matter disclosed herein relates to a gas cartridge.
Typically, a setting tool for striking a fastener includes a gas cartridge provided with an outer vessel (outer can), a gas charge vessel (inner bag) and an inner space formed between the two vessels. Liquefied fuel inside the gas charge vessel is ejected when a valve is opened by a combination of the effects of exposing the liquefied fuel to atmospheric conditions and a compressing force applied thereto by compression gas at high pressure, which is charged into the inner space.
The outer vessel is generally rigid and provides support to the gas charge vessel, which is operationally disposed in an interior of the outer vessel. The gas charge vessel includes an opening portion that is opened by the valve and other portions that extend from the opening portion along the length of the outer vessel. Those other portions are formed of relatively thin aluminum or similar materials and are made to be easily deformable as the liquefied fuel is ejected.
A result of the gas charge vessel being formed of such thinly formed materials is that, when the gas charge vessel is deformed, the deformation proceeds freely and often non-uniformly. This non-uniform deformation can lead to extreme deformation at particular sections of the gas charge vessel and relatively little deformation at others. For example, the opening portion of the gas charge vessel may experience minor deformation whereas the central portions of the gas charge vessel may be nearly entirely crushed. In such a case, a wrinkle or a fold in the gas charge vessel material may be formed and eventually may lead to a crack or a pin hole being produced.
When a crack or a pin hole is produced at the gas charge vessel, the compression gas is permitted to enter the gas charge vessel and its pressure is reduced. Similarly, the liquefied fuel may leak from the gas charge vessel. In each case, the gas charge vessel may be insufficiently compressed and the liquefied fuel may be undesirably mixed with the compression gas or lost from the gas charge vessel. When the valve is subsequently opened, the entire quantity of the liquefied fuel may not be ejected. This represents a degraded operation of the setting tool and may constitute an economic loss.